Giffords Wristband Worn by Her Husband's Astronaut Twin in Orbit

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When NASA astronaut Scott Kelly emerged from a space capsule
Wednesday after 159 days in space, he carried the love for his
sister-in-law Gabrielle Giffords, the injured Arizona
congresswoman, with him in the form of a simple turquoise
wristband.

NASA photographs released after Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts
landed on the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan in Central
Asia show the American astronaut wearing a wristband with a peace
symbol, heart and the word "Gabby" – Giffords' nickname –
emblazoned on it.

The wristband was delivered to Kelly on the space station by
astronauts on NASA's shuttle Discovery, which visited the
orbiting lab earlier this month, NASA spokeswoman Kylie Clem told
SPACE.com.

Giffords is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head from a
Jan. 8 shooting spree in Tucson that killed six people and
injured 13 others. She is undergoing rehabilitation at a hospital
in Houston, where husband Mark Kelly is training for launch.

When
Giffords was shot, Scott was commanding the space station in
orbit – able to reassure his brother only via an Internet phone
connection, and then only when space station communications
systems allowed.

Scott Kelly has told his brother that he
hopes to help with Giffords as much as possible after his
return home to Houston and chip in while Mark continues training
for his two-week spaceflight to the International Space
Station.

The idea for the Giffords wristbands, however, came from Ryan
Pont and Danielle Dobrusin who were interns in the
congresswoman's office in Arizona. They were looking for a way to
honor the victims of the Tucson shootings and were inspired by a
sign outside Giffords' office that read "Peace, Love, Gabby,"
they state on their website: peacelovegabby.com.

The color turquoise was chosen because it is Giffords' favorite,
Pont and Dobrusin explain on the website.

Proceeds from the sales of the wristbands and bumper stickers
with the same message go to a scholarship fund created in the
honor of Gabe Zimmerman, an aide in Giffords' office who was
among those killed in the shooting.

Demand for the wristbands has been so high, the fundraising group
has them on backorder, according to its website.

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Twitter@tariqjmalik.
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